AnotherreportclaimsApple's'iPhone7'willditchheadphonejack

Yet another report is claiming that Apple’s next-generation smartphone, the so-called “iPhone 7,” will indeed get rid of the headphone jack.

This time, the report comes from Fast Company, which cites a source with knowledge of Apple’s plans.

Farewell, jack

Corroborating previousreports from other publications of varying repute, the new report says that the iPhone 7 will be considerably thinner thanks to the removal of the standard 3.5mm headphone jack. In the headphone jack’s stead, the Lightning cable port will serve as the available socket for conveying sound output into wired headphones.

“Apple is working with its longtime audio chip partner Cirrus Logic to adapt the audio chipset in the iPhone to work with the Lightning port, according to our source,” Fast Company reports. “Our source adds that the audio system will also leverage a new noise-canceling technology from Wolfson Microelectronics—a U.K.-based audio tech company Cirrus acquired in 2014. The software will be baked into the phone and also into the headphones that will plug into it, and will help remove background noise in music playback and in phone calls, our source says.”

While other reports have pointed to the likelihood of the inclusion of a pair of Lighting-compatible EarPod earphones with the iPhone 7, Fast Company’s source claims that it’s more likely that a pair of Lightning-connected, noise-canceling earphones will be sold separately by Apple, presumably as part of its Beats line of audio accessories. That seems unbecoming for Apple, though, as does the previously reported inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack adapter for the Lightning cable port.

Hello, wireless charging and waterproofing

The Lightning cable port has been primarily used for data transfer and battery charging. And according to the new report, the latter will be taken care of while the Lightning port is being used for audio output by means of wireless charging, not unlike the inductive process that’s already in use with the Apple Watch.

Finally, the report also adds to the flurry of rumors claiming that the iPhone 7 will be waterproof, with a special chemical coating applied to its components.